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This proposal refers to the 26,298 hospitalization dossiers of the "Hospício de Pedro II" (1844-1889), later called "Hospício Nacional de Alienados" (1889-1944), the first asylum for insane people in Brazil, and also one of the firsts in Latin America. The institution is considered a landmark in the medicalization of madness and the consolidation of Psychiatry as a medical specialty.

The dossiers held by the Instituto Municipal Nise da Silveira are composed by the patient's registration form and the various attached documents, among which are medical certificates, letters from family members to the administration of the hospice discharge applications, poverty certificates and manumission letters. Each dossier records the trajectory of these individuals between their classification and recognition as mentally insane and their process of leaving the institution, whether due to discharge, leave, escape or death. Thus, they point out fundamental aspects about the asylum experiences of different groups in society, including marginalized and stigmatized groups such as slaves and ex-slaves, women and immigrants. 

In addition to statistical data on these patients, the documentation also enable the analysis of the complex social relationships that have marked the history of America since its colonial period, such as godparentage and patronage, slavery and patriarchy.